任务二 阅读理解
The children were digging in the gravel pit(砂砾坑). The spade struck something.
"I think it was a rabbit-hole," said Jane. "There might be baby rabbits."
"Let's get it out," said Cyril. The hole grew larger. Suddenly Robert dropped his
spade and knelt down in the sand. "Look!" he cried. "You can see it now—it isn't a
rabbit-hole—it's a sort of cave. Look!"
They all knelt down and looked. There certainly was something dark—a sort of
hairy, furry darkness. Then suddenly this dark something moved and with one spring the
Sand-fairy was out of the sand and sitting on the gravel.
It was exactly like a fat spider, or a mole, or a rat—or perhaps more like all three
mixed together. It had legs and arms and hands and feet like a monkey's, and its face
was very like a monkey's too, except that it had ears like a bat's ears, and its eyes were
on long stalks(肉柄) like a snail's eyes.
"Don't be frightened," said Anthea kindly. "We won't hurt you."
"I'm not frightened," said the Sand-fairy. "I'm only angry. You wake me up out of
my thousand years' sleep."
"Who are you?" asked Robert.
"I'm a Psammead," it said angrily. "A sand-fairy. And I can give you anything you
wish for—one wish a day, and the wish lasts till sunset."
"How perfectly lovely!" said Jane.
"Don't interrupt(打断)," said the Sand-fairy. "I must have my sleep out. I've
been asleep since long before you were born, and I want to go on sleeping till long after
you're dead."
"Please," said Anthea politely, "couldn't you give us just one wish now?"
The Psammead blew itself out and said, "Very well. What do you want?"
The children whispered together. Then Anthea said, "We wish we were all as
beautiful as the day."
The Sand-fairy blew itself out still more, then suddenly collapsed(萎缩). "Done!"
it said.
"And now go away and don't bother me."
They looked at each other. Nothing seemed changed. Then Jane cried, "Oh! Your
faces—your clothes—everything!"
They were indeed beautiful—their faces perfect, their clothes changed into splendid
silks and velvets(丝绒). Excited and happy, they ran home to show Martha. But when
she opened the door, she screamed, "Get away with you!" and slammed(砰地关上) it
in their faces.
—Adapted from Five Children and It
1. How did the Psammead feel about being woken up from its sleep?
A. Angry. B. Excited. C. Happy. D. Afraid.
2. Why did Martha slam the door?
A. Because they were very dirty.
B. Because they were too late.
C. Because she was angry at them.
D. Because they looked strange to her.
3. What is the CORRECT order of the story?
① A strange fairy came out of the sand.
② The children asked to become beautiful.
③ The children's clothes and faces changed.
④ The children were digging in the gravel pit.
⑤ Nobody at home knew who they really were.
A. ①⑤②④③ B. ④①②③⑤
C. ①④⑤②③ D. ④②③①⑤
4. What is the main theme of this passage?
A. The beauty of nature. B. The danger of magic.
C. The value of hard work. D. The importance of family.
5. According to the passage, what would probably happen next?
A. Martha would not say sorry to the children.
B. The children would never make another wish.
C. The children would try making a different wish.
D. The Psammead would disappear and never return.

1. A；2. D；3. B；4. B；5. C

1. 根据文中沙精灵的表述"I'm only angry. You wake me up out of my thousand years' sleep."，可知它被吵醒后感到生气，故选A。
2. 孩子们许愿后容貌和衣着发生巨大变化，Martha无法认出他们，觉得他们很陌生，因此砰地关上了门，故选D。
3. 故事的正确顺序为：④孩子们在砂砾坑挖东西→①沙精灵从沙子里出来→②孩子们许愿变得漂亮→③孩子们的容貌和衣服发生变化→⑤家里的Martha认不出他们，对应选项B。
4. 孩子们许愿变美后却被家人拒之门外，遭遇了麻烦，体现了魔法带来的潜在危险，因此文章主题是魔法的危险，故选B。
5. 本次许愿带来了不好的结果，且沙精灵允许每天许一个愿望，所以接下来孩子们很可能会尝试许一个不同的愿望，故选C。